


Of Potions and Transformations

by thisdarkpassenger



Series: harryhermione drabbles [3]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Book 6: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, F/M, I Tried, Potions Class, Project, Ravenclaw Hermione Granger, Rivalry, Slytherin Harry Potter, wacky au prompt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-13
Updated: 2020-11-13
Packaged: 2021-03-10 00:27:52
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,729
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27535255
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thisdarkpassenger/pseuds/thisdarkpassenger
Summary: "Do you hate me?”The sudden question caught Harry off guard.Harry and Hermione's dynamic changes as they are paired up for a potions research project during their 6th year, courtesy of Professor Slughorn of course.
Relationships: Hermione Granger/Harry Potter
Series: harryhermione drabbles [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1999588
Comments: 5
Kudos: 112





	Of Potions and Transformations

**Author's Note:**

> this was what I had written for the wacky au on discord. I hope you enjoy, feel free to leave a review.  
> another disclaimer: any mistakes made are mine

"Do you hate me?”.

The sudden question caught Harry off guard.

"I don't..." Harry blinked. "I don't hate you."

"So... Do you like me?" Hermione asked genuinely. 

"Well..."

In the absence of an answer and also due to his reluctant tone, Hermione sighed, disappointed.

"So, it means you despise me. And that's pretty much worse than hate," she threw herself back against her chair.

"Maybe just a little," he said jokingly with a grin on his face.

It was only then that she noticed how beautiful his smile was.

They were finally talking to each other, after years of competition and veiled rivalry.

Well... maybe not quite "veiled".

At first, Harry found her irritating. An annoying know-it-all. That was the best description he came up with.

She used to raise her hand before everyone else to answer the complicated questions asked by the professors. Hermione quickly became the top student. This meant that Harry was second best...

Harry Potter was very quiet, shy, lonely... She rarely saw him laugh or smile or even interact with other students. Sometimes he exchanged a few words with Ron Weasley and Neville Longbotton – which was really surprising, because they were quite different.

Hermione constantly wondered how Ron and Neville had managed to get close to Harry. Well, "close" was perhaps not the most appropriate word. They say good morning and good afternoon to each other. Sometimes she even caught them talking about the exams and essays. They didn't interact that much considering they were in different houses. Anyway, whatever approach was taken, the fact is that Ron and Neville are ones who came closest to being considered friends of Harry.

He spent most of his time in the library, studying. Hermione tried several times to get near him. Somehow, the boy with unruly black hair and deep green eyes sparked her curiosity and caught her interest. She wanted to know more about him. It was a difficult task, especially as he kept moving away from Hermione, trying to avoid her.

Over the years, it was discreet. When Hermione sat at the same table as him in the library, Harry cleared his throat, leafed through the book for a few moments, then got up from his chair and left the room, pretending he hadn't noticed her presence.

After some time, when Hermione became the most outstanding student, always getting the best marks, he finally stopped pretending. If he saw her coming, he immediately got up and left. There were times when he even looked at her arrogantly, snorted, and walked away, making it clear that he didn't want to be in the same place as her – the classroom was already enough.

Things haven’t changed much between them over the years. They didn’t talk. And Hermione didn’t have enough confidence in herself to confront him and ask about his indifference and also find out the reasons why he ignored her with so much energy.

That was until their sixth year, when Professor Slughorn came up with a brilliant idea.

"I am going to assign you to a project and ... Pay attention!"

The students started to protest, expressing their disapproval.

“I should begin by saying... This is not a simple potions class, my dear students. Not everyone is able to attend this class. It is based on the marks you received from your OWLS. So make it worthwhile. Challenge yourself. A research project and a planned potion prototype.”

With a mischievous smile upon his face, Neville raised his hand.

"Professor Slughorn, can we pick our own topics?"

“Ah! Mr. Longbottom, I would not be making advancing to this class if I suggested a free topic”. He made no attempt to hide the disgust on his face. “I want something transformative. Something that can be used as a defensive and offensive potion to a wizard who has suffered very serious damage.”

The jaws dropped. The students looked bewildered, with no idea what to do.

"But what do you mean, sir...?"

"I can't believe what I'm hearing! Nor do I want to know who the author of this brilliant question was." He paused for a moment. "Students! Imagine an auror who got severely injured during a mission... An accident that cost him the loss of a limb, the traumatic amputation of a body part or something like that? How can a brilliant auror lose his career that way?" he said in a sad tone. "What would you do to help someone who refuses to leave their field? Someone who has lost vision, or hearing, with a severed limb, who has lost mobility in arms or legs? This may happen at some point. You never know what someone will come across in his or her path... So give it your best shot!” he concluded.

"Should the task be done individually or in pairs?" was asked.

“The project must be done in pairs and you will start right now!”

The students started discussing and moving around the classroom to form the pairs.

“Hey! What are you guys doing? I'm not finished yet!”

The students stopped in their tracks, confused.

"First of all, I'm the one who's going to arrange the class into pairs."

They couldn't help but let out exclamations of annoyance. Slughorn chose to ignore those.

“Secondly, you will leave this room and go to the library or stay in here to begin developing the potion, you are allowed to come after hours, with authorizations signed by me. These places will certainly be more... appropriate for brainstorming sessions.”

"Will you draw the names, sir?" a girl who was sitting in the back asked.

"No. I'll form the pairs based on my perceived perception of the dynamics between you. You have two weeks."

"Only two weeks?" another student asked with his eyes wide open.

Slughorn gave a cynical, sadistic smile.

"Like I said before, depending on your future aspirations, you may require agility, a keen sense of urgency, and extreme competence."

As Professor Slughorn called the students by their last names, forming the pairs, Harry's anxiety increased. It wasn't possible he would make him work alongside her. There had to be someone else… “Miss Granger!” the voice echoed through the room; he ran his eyes down the list of students' names, raising one eyebrow. “I'm going to pair you up with... Mr. Potter,”

Harry’s nightmare had just become reality. Gradually, the students began to leave the class, heading to the library, and setting up their materials with their, they were each given a signed forming which gave them permission to use the potions classroom after hours.

Before approaching Professor Slughorn, Harry waited for everyone to leave the classroom, including Hermione, who left shortly after giving him an incisive stare that he pretended to ignore but had registered in his peripheral vision.

“Sir…?”

“Yes?” The professor, standing in front of the chalkboard, murmured without raising his eyes from his book.

“May I approach?”

“This is not the Wizengamot, Mr. Potter. Of course you can.”

With a careful approach, the boy walked towards the professor. Then he stopped in front of the man he admired so much and who challenged him. Harry was suddenly speechless.

The professor lifted his eyes and looked at him for a moment.

“Do you have to tell me something? I don't have all day, Mr. Potter.”

“Well…” he cleared his throat. In general, Harry had difficulty interacting with people. He had been trying to change that. His weak area was when it came to challenging those of authority “I'd like to know if it's possible…”

The professor furrowed his eyebrows, waiting for him to finish his sentence. Harry felt his cheeks flush.

“Is it possible to change partners?”

“Is there a problem with Miss Granger?” he put the textbook aside and halted his demonstrations.

“Not at all, it's just... I just don't know why you paired us together…”

The professor sighed.

“I paired you with her because I believe that combined you are twice as smart. You two are the most outstanding students in this class. Just like your mother. I have also been working on the slug club and you are the first two that I have in mind. But that is a conversation for another time. Now go, Harry! Don't you have a project to work on?”

“But, sir…” Harry pushed again, however Slughorn pushed him out of the classroom and slammed the door, saying he was too busy and had no time for trivialities.

The boy stared at the closed door for a while. Then he realized that there was someone leaning against the wall right next to the classroom entry; a long brown haired girl, wearing a robe with the Ravenclaw crest, her arms crossed in front of her body... an annoyed expression on her face.

Granger.

It was obvious that she had overheard the entire conversation.

Harry stared at her with a serious expression for a moment and then turned his back to the girl.

“We have work to do.” She shouted after him.

“I don't know why everyone needs to keep reminding me of that. I know of my obligations.”

He started walking faster. Hermione ttrailed closely behind, trying to match his pace.

"Okay, great! We should start thinking about something."

Harry turned around abruptly. Hermione stopped just in time to avoid colliding with his back

"Granger..."

"My friends sometimes call me Hermione," she tried her best to show a friendly smile, making every effort to look nice. After all, she didn't want any conflicts with the person she was going to have to work with for the next two weeks.

"Granger," he was cold and rude. "we have two weeks."

"Exactly!" the girl exclaimed as though it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"We can do it in two days and with our eyes shut. There's no need to rush. That is, at least I know I can do it in two days," he sounded exceedingly arrogant even to his own ears.

Hermione snorted, crossing her arms again.

"We should get started as soon as possible. I hate to leave everything to the last minute."

"Okay, I get it! You're such a stickler perfectionist," he said in disdain, "but that's a challenge. I’m just making it more interesting and stimulating for the both of us."

"No! Harry! We should start the project as soon as possible, because the sooner we start, the sooner we can finish it!" she tried once more.

Harry rolled his eyes.

"And the sooner you get rid of me. Since it seems to bother you so bloody much. I just want to spare you the pain of having to spend time with me, Harry Potter," she stated in an ironic tone, putting emphasis on his name.

He gave her an angry look. She, in turn, kept the defiant expression on her face. They stared at each other for what seemed like eternal minutes before Harry turned around and walked away with quick, furious steps.

It seemed like a losing battle for Hermione. She just sighed and shrugged.

* * *

“Don't worry, Hermione. At some point he'll have to talk to you," Padma said.

“Or maybe he'll only talk to you two days before the deadline.” Parvati added.

“You better not open your mouth unless you're going to comfort Hermione!’” Padma scolded her sister.

“But it was Harry Potter himself who said he can do all the work in just two days,” Parvati imitated his arrogant tone.

“It's going to be very difficult to get close to him or, even worse, talk to him,” Hermione said with resignation

“Yes, it will.”

“Parvati!”

“What? I'm being realistic here. He never talks to anyone. Harry Potter is a loner, and I would dare say, a misanthrope.”

“He talks to Ron and Neville.” Hermione amended.

“Correction: They are the ones who talk to him.”

“There it is!” exclaimed Padma. “why don't you ask one of them what is the best way to approach Harry? After all, they started talking to each other somehow... Maybe they can give you some tips.”

“Yes! And don’t worry, Hermione. There's still eleven days left. I assure you, smart as you are, you'll get this project done before everyone else. And I won't be surprised if he's really right about the "two-day theory.” She made air quotes with her hands.

Hermione smiled at her friends, grateful for their advice.

* * *

“Ron... Do you have a minute?”

“I have several minutes. I won't be able to put all those books in my bag before dark,” Ron looked away from his stuff and stared at Hermione for a moment.

Hermione brushed away a stray lock of hair that had fallen over her forehead, wondering if she should really ask him or just let it go. She took a deep breath.

“You're one of the few people I know who talks to Harry around here.”

“Well…” It looked like Ron was pondering, “well, maybe. But the truth is, I'm one of the few people Harry talks to. He's not excluded, he excludes himself. But the order why that is…” he snapped his fingers, “bloody hell, why do I always get confused when I try to finish this sentence?”

“It doesn't change the result.”

“Yes! You're brilliant!”

Hermione had been told she was brilliant many times before. But never for finishing such a banal sentence.

“And what exactly am I useful for?” Ron asked.

“Like you said, he excludes himself. Harry made a point of not talking to anyone, most likely because he thinks no one here is worthy to get close to him because he's too intellectual for these people.” she rolled her eyes. “And probably the reason he hates me that much is because he realized that there is someone smarter than him.”

“The question is how did you start talking to him and gain his sympathy? I need to do this as soon as possible, because he's my partner for Slughorn's project.”

Ron smiled, amused.

“Well, first of all, I don't think he hates you.”

“Oh, yes, he does!” she crossed her arms and emphasized the words, “he even asked the professor to pair him up with someone else.”

“It's not hate, Hermione. I think Harry is just competing with you. And I think he feels a bit threatened, or rather challenged. I mean, he's very proud of himself, he feels second best…”

“Reason enough to hate me.”

Ron shrugged, still trying to fit his books and the rest of the stuff in his bag.

“I think you're taking this the wrong way, but anyway,” with one last punch of a thick book of transfiguration, he sighed, knowing he couldn't do any better than that, and closed his full bag with some difficulty, “the fact is that Harry is not arrogant. He's a good person. He's just very shy and doesn't really know how to get close to others or how to interact. It's not that he feels anger towards people. He's probably afraid… he has never felt accepted. He doesn't have the best home life, Mum practically took him in this summer. Not to mention, he resents being in slytherin… 

I think he has been afraid that the other students will get away from him because, well I don't really know, they think he's an odd bloke or arrogant because he’s so smart and he can't talk about anything other than muggle comics or gadgets.”

Hermione sighed, feeling suddenly and inexplicably bad for him.

“But he seems to try hard to make people think exactly that about him. That he’s arrogant.”

“It's a defense mechanism, Hermione. Before people reject him, he rejects them first.” He said, making some effort to put the heavy bag on his back.

“But then… He'll never get anywhere. He’ll always be a loner and that’s sad…”

“Try telling him that.”

“But he doesn't allow me to get close…”

“You know I'm kind of clumsy, right? Well, that's not the point. One day, I was coming to the library to meet you and Neville, with my bag full of stuff and when I went to put it on my shoulders, the weight threw me forward and I tripped and tumbled... Guess who helped me? Harry himself. He helped me pick my things from the ground, took me to the infirmary… I hurt my ankle. The pain was pretty bad, which didn't allow me to walk straight… Kept me out of quidditch practice for a month... That's when I found out he was fascinated with gadgets. And while he was helping to pick my stuff up from the floor, he saw a Chudley cannons graphic novel and said he'd read it a dozen times. We kept talking about it, about the plot holes…” Ron laughed, remembering that moment, “the bloke is great, just very much enjoying his own company and lonely. But you are likely to get to know him for real when you finally talk to him.”

“Or when he finally agrees to talk to me,” Hermione corrected him. But she was already feeling a little more confident after the conversation.

“He will. Don't worry.” Ron said with a smile, then waved to Hermione and walked away, giving her a lot to think about.

* * *

Harry was reading a book in the almost empty library when a chair was abruptly pulled up; the noise hurt his ears but caught his attention. He raised his head to find Hermione, sitting right next to him, although she was avoiding his gaze. She rested her hands on the table in front of her and sighed deeply.

“This is already getting ridiculous. Can we start our project? You know we can't postpone it forever…” she paused, still not looking at Harry, so she continued speaking in such a low voice that it was even difficult for Harry to hear, “as I told you, the sooner we get started, the sooner it will be finished. It's only a week away…”

“Eight days left…”

“Whatever! It's the same thing.”

They were whispering, even if there was hardly anyone in the library. But for some reason, they didn't dare raise their voices, to be fair, they were afraid to be on the end of a scolding from Madam Pince.

It was Harry's turn to sigh. He didn't want to admit it, but she was right. There was no way to keep putting it off. And what he had told her about getting all the work done in just two days was something he didn't even believe himself.

“Okay!” he said, kind of grudgingly, finally turning his face towards her, “Do you have the paper with the permission to use Slughorn’s classroom after hours?”

Hermione nodded.

Not making much noise, they both got up and dragged the chairs forward, leaving the room without saying another word, careful not to disturb the silence in the library.

As soon as they entered the classroom, Hermione closed the door behind them with a bang and turned to Harry.

“Okay! If we're gonna do this, we need to talk. And not in a harsh way, but as two adults.” She spoke loud and clear, so that there would be no doubt that they should put their differences and rivalries aside and focus solely and exclusively on their research project.

He listened to her, quietly, with an expression she couldn't quite depict.

“Don't worry, Granger. I take it very seriously”.

Those words reassured her, even if there was still some disdain on Harry's face. For the first time in years, she was less tense and breathing more calmly around him.

“Do you have any ideas?” Hermione asked.

He shook his head.

“Do you?”

She repeated his gesture and shrugged.

“Well... Let’s brainstorm. 

After a few hours of consideration, they chose to develop a response to an amputated or severed limb caused by dark magic that captured brain stimuli sent to control the movements of that body part.

They spent hours discussing and a few days designing. 

Amidst allusions to his favorite series’, shy smiles gradually appeared on their faces and became more and more natural as they understood each other better and realized that, combined, they were even smarter and, in fact, very similar.

When they finally finished their project they couldn't believe it themselves. They were both stunned by their creation. It had exceeded their expectations. Harry and Hermione couldn't help the broad smiles that took over their faces; and amidst the congradulations they recieved, they shared a hug.

Realizing too late what they were doing, Harry and Hermione promptly broke the hug in a clumsy way, blushing and feeling a little awkward.

Shortly after, they presented the finished project to Slughorn, who smiled extremely pleased with what they had accomplished.

"I wasn't wrong when I paired you two up. I expected nothing less than brilliant, but yet somehow I'm surprised. Congratulations."

Harry and Hermione smiled and thanked him. It was the first of so many times they would do that.

Before leaving the classroom, Hermione glanced at Ron who nodded and winked at her. He was really right after all.

Harry left first and Hermione went right after him.

"Hey, do you want to study for the midterm exams with me?"

He stared at her like he didn't believe what she was suggesting, but he kept walking.

"Study with you?"

"Yeah."

Harry suddenly stopped his footsteps, and Hermione almost bumped into him. She jumped, losing her balance and almost fell over backwards. Harry was quick to hold her arm and keep her from tumbling down.

"Why do you always do that? It startled me... but good reflex."

"I'm sorry..." he stood still for a moment, thinking about what to say next, "Why are you doing this, Granger?"

She shrugged.

“What's wrong with asking you to study with me? I mean, our project was really great. We make a good team.”

“No... I know... I mean, why are you doing this? You don't have to. I'm not your partner anymore. We finished our project,” he didn't speak harshly or bitterly, or even to offend her. He was genuinely curious, “you have your friends…”

“Well... I do, but sometimes I feel a little awkward around here... I keep thinking people look at me like I'm just a dumb muggleborn…”

“I think they look at me like I'm just an odd bloke…” Harry seemed to talk to himself. Suddenly his gaze became distant.

“So... will you study with me or not?” Hermione asked with a smile.

He seemed to wake up from a daydream and then stared at her, suddenly realizing that he liked her smile. There was something genuine about that gesture, like a peaceful, joyful feeling of being at home.

“Well, okay... that's fine!” Harry accepted the invitation between stutters.

“Great! Meet me in the library at 7.” she said before walking away.

As he watched her leave, Harry couldn't help but smile.

Now they were in the library, in the middle of several books, and she was asking Harry if he hated her or liked her. And he couldn't find the right words to answer.

“I thought we called a truce.” 

“I never…” with some difficulty the words came out. Harry cleared his throat. “I suppose I should explain. I was never anything... except the boy who lived.”

The revelation took Hermione by surprise. She listened to him attentively, without daring to interrupt him.

“I mean, my parents are dead. Then I grew up with my aunt and uncle and realized I wasn't very good at anything. I was terrible at the things they let me try. Although I suppose they held me back because they wanted my cousin to succeed. I also failed to make friends, which, again, I suppose is also more my cousin scaring everyone away. But then I got my Hogwarts letter... it's the best thing in the world when you're eleven and all you want is to fit in somehow... My brain is all I've ever had. And I tried to compensate for my loneliness by spending hours and hours alone, fixing old muggle electronic devices and building new ones with rudimentary pieces that I found in the attic,” he paused for a moment, with a distant look in his eyes. “Sometimes I believed that if I became a great wizard, people would see me as more than the boy who lived, they may be dead but maybe my parents would be proud of me and...I wouldn't be tarnishing their memories. After a few years, I resigned myself to the fact that I may never have a family, not after Sirius.”

Hermione was sad for him. And surprised that he was getting it off his chest. Harry couldn't explain why, but he felt a strange confidence in Hermione.

“You don't have a family?” she asked in a low voice.

He raised his shoulders.

“I don't know, I have the Weasleys and they are so much more than I could ask for… But all I know is that I saw the perfect opportunity to be first in something when I got my Hogwarts letter. Then you showed up,” he said with a half-smile, now looking at her, “it's not your fault anyway. I was just upset about my bad luck”.

Hermione has always been happy with a wonderful family, who has always supported her. She had loving parents who would never abandon her. They had a sense of protection and a deep affection for her... Hermione couldn’t imagine not having them in her life. And she wished that Harry could have the same.

Hermione wondered if it would be better to let him oust her. She already had everything, why not give him that? After so many sorrows and disappointments, he would have that joy, the highest marks, something to be proud of for the rest of his life...

In the corner of his eye, Harry noticed that Hermione was looking at him and, as if he had just read her mind, he dissuaded her from her plan.

“Don't even think about it!” he exclaimed

“What-?”

“Don't neglect your grades. Don't fail your midterms deliberately because you feel sorry for me.”

“I don’t...”

“Hermione," He began. "Nothing would make me feel worse than you let me win. It wouldn't be an achievement of my own. I can take second place. I can accept losing to you. As long as being second is the result of my efforts, not because someone made it easy for me,”

Hermione's heart stuttered. It was the first time he called her by her first name.

“I won't do it, Harry," she said honestly.

* * *

Hermione and Harry became inseparable. They were always together in the library, in the great hall for meals, in between classes.

Although, at first, they were rivals and Harry avoided her with quite a lot of effort, nobody was really surprised by the sudden compatibility They were very similar and it seemed inevitable. It was a shared thought among the students that they would get along well and be great friends at some point or another. Even if it took a few years.

The midterm exams were held and it came as no surprise that Hermione Granger got the best grades. Being closely followed by Harry, who was just a few points behind her.

Hermione was thrilled when she got her exam results. While she exchanged hugs with her friends, Padma and Parvati. Ron was joking that he would like to borrow her brain, she spotted Harry at a reasonable distance from where she was, smiling in her direction. As soon as she walked away, leaving her friends behind, Hermione covered the distance between her and Harry and then stopped in front of him.

“Good work.” he said honestly.

“Thank you!”

“I'm the one who should be thanking you.”

And there was that smile again. Hermione didn't have to ask why he was thanking her. She knew it. Actually, in the year that followed, they didn't need many words to understand each other. They understood each other through smiles, gestures, looks, touches... It became easier and easier for them to establish a bond. It became almost natural and expected that their bond would develop romantically. Padma and Pavrati even placed bets.

Their bond would keep them from falling into the dark pits of their minds especially with the threat of Voldemort.

* * *


End file.
